


Easing a Bad Day

by ShadowoftheLamp



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Gen, Perry cares about his boys, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 23:38:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10398732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowoftheLamp/pseuds/ShadowoftheLamp
Summary: Perry could always tell when it had been a bad day for one of his boys.He does what he can to help.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Perry being a sort of therapy animal to the boys is great. I mean, with how much dangerous stuff they do, they have to get stressed sometimes. Reviews super duper loved!

Perry could always tell when it had been a bad day for one of his boys.

When Phineas was upset, he tended to babble, reciting recycled speeches or ideas, or improvements on old projects. He used his clicker box, with switches, knobs, and buttons on all six sides, to give his hands something to do.

Ferb, meanwhile, was even quieter than usual. He slouched slightly, and tinkered with one of his pet projects, a metal ball that was eventually going to open into a pocket dimension to store all of his stuff. It fit in one palm, and the coordinates and collapse of spacetime within helped force his head clear when he needed focus.

Both of them, however, liked petting him.

"Buford'll be fine, it was just a big scrape, but if we'd just fixed up the net better, if we'd figured out that he was too close to the edge..." Phineas shivered, Even from halfway across the living room, Perry could see his fingers tugging at a loose string in the couch, and hear his heart racing.

Perry jumped up into his lap, with an old blueprint clenched between his teeth. He churred, and Phineas scratched under his chin, gently opening his mouth to get the sheet out.

"Oh, the nanobots! Those were fun." He continued absently stroking the teal platypus as he scanned over it. "If we ever remake them, we'll definitely have to make different colors. We could create cars and helicopters and stuff that look just like normal ones. It would need much more fine-tuning, though, since every color would be programmed differently so it wouldn't end up rainbow spotted. Isabella and Baljeet would both probably like that, though..."

Perry shifted slightly, and Phineas smiled down at him, flattening his palm and pressing down his fingertips right on Perry's shoulderblades. "One of these days we need to make something specifically for you. In the afternoon, when you're back home." Phineas used both hands to turn Perry, and squished his cheeks. "Where do you get to every day? You don't do much... maybe you have a stray platypus friend? Or you're a superhero's sidekick!"

Perry just chittered, and Phineas laughed.

"Well, you're awesome anyway." He nuzzled his nose against the top of Perry's head.

His heart wasn't racing quite as fast anymore, and Perry pawed gently at his shirt.

________

Perry didn't know what had gone wrong that day. Phineas was tucked up in his room, scribbling on an old notebook, and Ferb was screwing something into his pocket ball.

Perry himself was a little tired- Heinz's scheme today was a 'mud-inator' and he'd only been able to shower for a minute before hearing a loud shriek and racing up to see. Luckily, it was just Candace, but the boys and their friends had been ankle-deep in mud.

"Perry, eeeew!" Candace grimaced. "You're filthy! Ferb, don't let him on the furniture until you or Phineas clean him off."

Ferb didn't respond, but picked Perry up and climbed the stairs to the bathroom. As he twisted the faucet to start the bath, he blinked a few times, then settled down on the rug in front of the toilet, knees losely pressed against his chest.

There were grease and oil stains on his shirt. He usually put on a clean shirt if he got dirty during the day.

Perry crawled up on his lap, and Ferb's fingers worked into his muscles, digging into the fur. He could feel himself vibrating as he started chittering, and Ferb smiled softly, switching to rolling his knuckles.

"It must be nice, to not have much to think about."

Ferb carefully lifted Perry up, then set him in the bath, rubbing soap unto his hands then lathering it into Perry's fur. He started humming a somewhat aimless tune, sometimes resembling something classical, then veering into nothing in particular.

Then, he started singing- the jingle to a car wash the boys had created near the beginning of the summer. His low, deep singing voice didn't quite fit the quick upbeat tone, but it was still nice to listen to.

Perry heard the clock chime four before he was pulled out and fluffed with a towel. His fur floofed up like a ball, and Ferb ran his fingers through it again, tangling them up before working them out.

"I know there's research about the therapeutic benefit of petting animals, but in my opinion, platypuses are far better than cats and dogs. It's something about the slick fur."

Perry chittered at that.

Ferb took one last stroke through Perry's fur before unwrapping the towel and setting him down on the floor. Perry hurried out the open door and into the boy's room, to curl up on the end of Ferb's bed.

"Oh, there you are, Perry." Phineas was using his clicker, and he jumped off his bed and moved up to Ferb's.

Perry ended up drifting off to sleep, but before he did he could hear Phineas laughing.

And that was one of his favorite sounds. 


End file.
